• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Instant Pot Recipe Guide! download now!

FREE 5 Instant Pot Meals in 5 Minutes E Course!


Thank you for subscribing!


Your Homebased Mom

  • About
  • Latest
  • Contact
NEW! Watch on youtube!

Your Homebased Mom

Leigh Anne Wilkes

  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Appetizers
      • Beverages
      • Bread
      • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Dessert
        • Bars and Brownies
        • Cake
        • Candy and Treats
        • Cookies
        • Ice Cream
        • Pie
      • Main Dishes
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches and Burgers
      • Sauces and Dressings
      • Side Dishes
      • Soup
    • Cooking Method
      • Crock Pot
      • Grilling
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pan
      • Oven
      • Quick and Easy
      • Recipes for Two
    • Ingredients
      • Beef
      • Eggs
      • Pasta
      • Pork
      • Poultry
        • Chicken
        • Turkey
      • Seafood
      • Vegetarian
      • Gluten Free
    • Cuisine
      • American
      • Asian
      • European
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
    • Holiday
      • New Year’s Eve
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patrick’s Day
      • Easter
      • 4th of July
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
  • Travel
    • Europe
    • United States
      • New York City
      • Portland
    • What To Wear
  • Life
    • Home
    • Party Ideas
    • Empty Nesters
    • Church
      • Activity Day
      • Relief Society
    • Organizational Tips
    • Recommended Reads
  • New? Start Here
  • Subscribe for weekly recipes

    FREE 5 Instant Pot Meals in 5 Minutes E Course!


    Thank you for subscribing!


Recipe Finder

  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Bread
    • Breakfast and Brunch
    • Dessert
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches and Burgers
    • Sauces and Dressings
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
  • Cooking Method
    • Oven
    • Crock Pot
    • Grilling
    • Instant Pot
    • One Pan
    • Quick and Easy
  • Ingredients
    • Beef
    • Eggs
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Vegetarian
    • Gluten Free
  • Cuisine
    • American
    • Asian
    • European
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Mediterranean
    • Mexican
  • Holiday
    • New Year’s Eve
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
Home / Latest Posts / Recipes / Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

Jump to Recipe Share
Share on:
By: Leigh Anne WilkesPosted: 10/01/22Updated: 9/20/24

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure policy here.

These classic Pumpkin Bars are a delicious fall dessert. This recipe makes a soft, tender pumpkin cake topped with a rich, cream cheese frosting.

Pumpkin Bars Cream Cheese Frosting and pecans

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This recipe for Pumpkin Bars comes from my friend Sherra.  This is one of their family’s  favorite holiday recipes. One year she made 20 batches of pumpkin bars for her kid’s school.  It was so popular, she printed off the recipe and left it in the school office for all the mom’s who kept asking for the recipe!

These bars are perfectly falvored. The cake is made with a yummy combination of fall flavors – cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger so it is the perfect treat for this time of year.  For me, the cream cheese frosting is the best part!

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients Needed

  • Eggs
  • Sugar, granulated sugar and powdered sugar
  • Oil
  • Pumpkin Puree. This is not the same as pumpkin pie filling. There are no spices in pumpkin puree.
  • Flour. I prefer unbleached all purpose flour
  • Milk
  • Cream Cheese
  • Baking Powder
  • Butter
  • Baking Soda
  • Salt
  • Spices, Cloves, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Ground Cinnamon. You can also substitute with
  • Pecans or Walnuts, optional
  • Vanilla Extract
pumpkin bar sheet cake with slice missing

How To Make Pumpkin Bars

  • Mix together oil, eggs, sugar and pumpkin in a large bowl or use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
  • Add in dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices into wet ingredients.
  • Pour batter into a greased 10 x 15 inch jelly roll baking pan
  • Bake in a 350 degrees F oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, butter, milk, powdered sugar until smooth
  • Frost cooled cake with mixture using an offset spatula or knife.
  • Sprinkle with chopped pecans or walnuts if desired.
Frosting pumpkin bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Tips

  • Don’t over mix the batter. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated.
  • You can substitute the spices in this recipe for 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice.
  • Dress up your pumpkin bars with chopped nuts such as candied pecans or walnuts, toffee bits or mini chocolate chips. You can also put the add ins into the cake batter too if you prefer. I use about 1 cup
  • Serve pumpkin bars without frosting if you prefer. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar or add some sweetened whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Piece of a pumpkin bar on a plate

Frequently Asked Questions

Do pumpkin bars need to be refrigerated?

Because of the cream cheese frosting they should be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store covered or in an airtight container.

Can I freeze pumpkin bars?

They freeze great! Store in an airtight container or a zippered freezer bag. I think they freeze better before the frosting is added. Wrap them airtight and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then top with cream cheese frosting.

Can I use a different size pan?

If you don’t have a 10 x 15 inch sheet pan you can use a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. It will give you a thicker cake and will require a little longer baking time. Bake until the cake begins to pull away from the edge of the pan, bounces back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Bar frosted with cream cheese and pecans

Check out more of my favorite pumpkin recipes:

  • Pumpkin Pie Cake
  • Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
  • Small Batch Pumpkin Bars
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting

Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos.

5 from 8 votes
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Bars

Recipe From: Leigh Anne Wilkes
Delicious pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting.  Perfect for feeding a crowd!
serves: 24 servings
Prep:10 minutes minutes
Cook:30 minutes minutes
Total:40 minutes minutes
Rate Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup oil
  • 15 oz. pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups flour unbleached all purpose
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 tsp dried ginger
  • 1/2 nutmeg
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz. cream cheese softened at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Mix together oil, eggs, sugar and pumpkin in a large bowl or a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
  • Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir until combined.
  • Pour into a greased 10 x 15 inch sheet pan
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Mix together softened cream cheese, vanilla, butter, milk, powdered sugar and beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Can also use a stand mixer.
  • Frost cooled cake with mixture and sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Tips & Notes:

  • Don’t over mix the batter. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated.
  • Dress up your pumpkin bars with chopped nuts such as candied pecans or walnuts, toffee bits or mini chocolate chips. You can also put the add ins into the cake batter too if you prefer. I use about 1 cup
  • Serve pumpkin bars without frosting if you prefer. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar or add some sweetened whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Recommended Products

Sheet Pan
Measuring Spoons
Offset Spatula

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 308kcal (15%) Carbohydrates: 45g (15%) Protein: 3g (6%) Fat: 13g (20%) Saturated Fat: 3g (19%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g Monounsaturated Fat: 7g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 38mg (13%) Sodium: 136mg (6%) Potassium: 72mg (2%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 37g (41%) Vitamin A: 175IU (4%) Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) Calcium: 32mg (3%) Iron: 1mg (6%)
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.
Course:Dessert
Cuisine:American
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Did you make this?I love seeing what you made. Be sure to share a picture and tag @yourhomebasedmom on social media!
Tag on Insta! Leave a Rating
Previous Post
30 Minute Pan Fried Chicken
Next Post
Maple Frosting

Reader Interactions

5 from 8 votes (8 ratings without comment)

Leave a Review Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this? Rate this recipe:




  1. tiffany says

    Posted on 1/26 at 6:35 pm

    I made these tonight, they were good but are they supposed to be “cake like”? Wondering if mine didn’t turn out right?..

    Reply
    • Leigh Anne says

      Posted on 1/27 at 7:29 am

      They are more cake like

      Reply
  2. HungryLittleGirl says

    Posted on 11/12 at 11:01 am

    They look perfect! Wish I could have a bite right now!
    Thank you so much for sharing this at Wednesday Extravaganza! Hope to see you there this week too 🙂

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Seasonal Posts

hand holding a s'mores ice cream cone

S’mores ice Cream

hand holding a chocolate ice cream cone

Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

two cones with malted milk ice cream on them

Malted Milk Ice Cream

dish of blueberry ice cream

Fresh Blueberry Ice Cream

Most Popular Posts

overhead shot of ooey gooey cake

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Herb Rice

baked riblets

Easy Oven Baked Riblets

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

Trending Now

overhead shot of cinnamon rolls

One Hour Cinnamon Rolls

plate of smashed potatoes and a fork

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

overhead shot of bowl of almond chicken

Almond Chicken

baked riblets

Easy Oven Baked Riblets

No knead bread in a pan

Instant Pot Bread

Tomato tart pieces

Easy Tomato Tart

spoon full of mac and cheese

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Almond Torte

  • Crock Pot
  • Instant Pot
  • Chicken
  • Breakfast
  • Appetizers
  • Bread
  • Salad
  • Dessert

Order my Cookbook, Holiday Slow Cooker!

Buy Now!
Back to Top
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Contact
© 2013–2025 Leigh Anne Wilkes Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.